


Petrichor

by poisonmateria



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, M/M, Violence in Later Chapters, did i mention there are werewolves?, roxas and ventus are clouds annoying little brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-07-11 16:50:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7061152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisonmateria/pseuds/poisonmateria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After two long months, Leon is finally home from his vacation. His return should be good news! It should be... but somehow, everything is wrong. Something happened on that trip that changed Leon. Cloud is determined to find out what.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is my first work that ive posted publicly, i'm a little nervous  
> i had the idea one night, what if leon was a werewolf? this is the result

Cloud sat by himself at the kitchen table, absently picking at the small plate of eggs and toast in front of him. Although Cloud outwardly seemed calm, his heart was beating rapidly against his ribcage, anticipation and excitement coursing through his blood stream. Leon finally returned home to Radiant Garden last night. Leon, who Cloud hadn’t seen in two whole months, his best friend in the whole world, his…  
Cloud looked down at his hands clasped together in his lap. He untangled them, flexing his numb fingers a few times, trying to shake out any excess energy. 

“Leon gets back from Balamb today, are you excited?” A voice interrupted Cloud’s thoughts as someone padded into the previously silent kitchen. Cloud glanced at his younger brother Roxas, watching as he piled his plate high with food. Cloud's eyes tracked him until he sat himself down across the table from him, much to Cloud's displeasure. He hoped to get out of the house he shared with his two brothers and their mom quickly that morning... Preferably before either of his siblings woke up. Just his luck, he sighed to himself. 

“So? I know you missed him,” Cloud narrowed his eyes as a small grin spread slowly across Roxas' face. Roxas raised his eyebrows and Cloud scowled at him, preparing for his brother's onslaught of teasing.

“Shut up Roxas, who asked you,” Cloud plucked off a piece of his half-way eaten toast and chucked it Roxas, hitting him square in the forehead. “For your information, not that it matters, I am excited,” Cloud stated a moment later, mouth full of scrambled egg. He swallowed. “Two months without my best friend, who I care for, y'know, platonically,” He paused again, sending a pointed across the table at Roxas, who rolled his eyes. “Who wouldn’t be?”

“Best friend. Uh huh,” Roxas’ smug grin reappeared. Cloud braced himself for the worst. Roxas wasn’t nearly as loud with his teasing as their cousin, Sora, but he was merciless. “I saw that journal you thought you’d hidden. Here let’s see...” Cloud’s eyes widened. 

“You-” Cloud started, voice dripping with venom. Roxas raised his arm dramatically, cutting off his brother’s outburst.

“You write some killer poetry dude like uh... Let's see.... Something like 'Ohhhhh Leon, ooohhh, I can’t stop thinking about the way you looked that time… your eyes looked like uh… the… the... I don’t remember what this part said but it was something gay,” Roxas cried in a high, mocking voice. Cloud dropped his fork and leapt from his chair, nearly toppling it over. 

“Why, you...! What were you doing in my desk!?” he screeched, slamming his palms onto the table, gearing up to lunge across at his little brother. That was his private possession! Roxas had no right to-

Cloud’s bout of rage was interrupted by the sound of sock covered feet shuffling into the room, marking the appearance of his second brother. Two pairs of blue eyes shot up to the newcomer, who’s famous Strife family bed head hadn't yet been brushed out of his hair.

“Good morning…” Ventus mumbled and rubbed at his face lazily.

“Morning, Ven,” Roxas called nervously to his twin, relieved at the distraction his arrival had created. Cloud however, was not so relieved. He growled at the seated boy, this was not over… Mark his words… 

“Ooh you’re lucky kid…” Cloud hissed through his teeth. Dragging his hands from the table, he flopped back into his seat, glaring at Roxas as darkly as he could manage at 6 in the morning. He would deal with this later. He didn’t need to be late on Leon’s his first day back. Especially not because he decided to spend the time kicking the shit out of his little brother. He’d much rather be with Leon that these two, anyways. Cloud heaved out an annoyed sigh, running his fingers through his unruly blond locks. “Listen here. I don’t know what made you think that, but I’m not… With OR into Leon like that, a’right? I don’t care what you thought you read in that journal,” he hissed. “And you better not tell Leon about ANY of what you did read, he might get the wrong idea. If I find out you did, I’ll kill you Roxas, I swear on my life.” 

“Do I detect some disappointment in that first statement?” Roxas snickered, strategically ignoring his older brother’s threat. Cloud snarled menacingly. 

“You better shut up Roxie, or the next thing I throw will be my fork,” Cloud patted the utensil lying next to his plate for emphasis. 

“Don’t call me that!” Roxas shrieked suddenly, glaring darkly at Cloud. Cloud smirked and crossed his arms. He knew full well the use of the despised nickname would set the other off immediately. Roxas forgot all about the issue at hand when he got pissy. Checkmate.

“What’s with all the racket this early in the morning…” a quiet voice interjected from the other side of the room. The two bickering boys stopped and looked over at their brother. Ventus yawned. “Just let me relax until we have to leave… Noise is for school…”

“Yeah Roxie, Ven’s trying to perfect the art of sleeping while standing up, don’t screw with him,” Cloud sneered, eyes still on the tired boy as he shuffled around, making his own breakfast. Roxas stuck out his tongue at his older brother.

“Anyways,” Cloud announced and stood from his chair again, crossing the kitchen, mostly empty plate in hand. He balanced it on top of a tall pile of filthy dishes in the sink. “I gotta run.” 

“Huh? We don’t have to leave for school in another few hours, where are you going?” Roxas asked, looking at up his brother, confusion clear on his young face.

“I’m meeting Leon before school, if you must know,” Cloud replied, looking at his little brother as if daring him to say anything about it. “And, I’d better stop wasting my time with you two brats and leave if I don’t want to be late,” Cloud spun on his heel and made to leave the room. 

“Oh, of course, you’re going to see Leon. I should’ve known,” Roxas taunted after his retreating brother as he made his way to the entry hall. 

“You better watch yourself, Roxas! I’ll get you one of these days!” Cloud shouted back into the other room. He could hear Roxas bursting into a fit of giggles at his empty threat. Cloud sighed and rolled his eyes at his cackling brother, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and leaving the house. 

-0-0-0-

The trip to Leon’s was quick; Cloud only lived a couple blocks from the other. The two had been neighbors and friends for as long as Cloud could remember, he'd walked the path connecting their homes countless times in his 17 years.

Once the modest house Leon shared with his father came into view, Cloud’s heart began racing again. Tense excitement tightened in the pit of his stomach as he approached. 

Cloud had never been good at properly functioning on his own. It took two months away from his friend for him to fully comprehend how bad it was, however. He didn’t realize how heavily he relied on Leon’s support, despite not wanting help from anyone. He rarely made it out of his house without prompting, even then he often refused invitations from his small group of friends. The others had simply given up on trying to get Cloud to come out with them. Everyone except Leon. He would make sure Cloud left the house at least a couple times per week, besides for school. He would often stay with Cloud when he was upset, helping him work through issues in the best ways he knew how. He made sure Cloud ate when he absentmindedly skipped meals. Leon took good care of him, something he couldn’t consistently do for himself. Even when Cloud insisted he was fine, said he didn’t need the help, Leon persisted. Something Cloud didn’t- couldn’t understand, but appreciated immensely. He knew he was difficult, he’d always been moody, unpredictable, and hard to handle. He would often come off as rude, even without intending to, but Leon never left him behind. Cloud was monumentally grateful to his best friend, although he wouldn't admit it./p>

Cloud took a few deep breaths to calm himself as he neared, he just couldn’t wait to see the other. He nearly skipped up the porch steps, ringing the little bell a few times. Cloud could hear footsteps and a shout of “Squall!” through the wood before the door swung open, and Cloud found himself face to face with Leon’s father. The dark haired man smiled. 

“Morning, Cloud, nice to see you again. Squall should be down in a minute,” Laguna Liore informed him, pulling his ponytail tight with one hand. 

“Good morning Mr. Liore, glad to see you both back home safe and sound,” Cloud offered an awkward grin. He had never been too good at talking to Leon’s dad, despite the fact that he'd known him for years. 

Laguna had taken his wife’s name when they’d married. Leonhart. Laguna had said, accompanied by a sad laugh, it was because the two of them had always been a bit unconventional. However, after their messy divorce, Laguna changed it back to his original family name. He told Cloud once when he was much younger that it was because ‘Sometimes when adults decided that they didn’t love each other in the same way they used to anymore, that they would separate. It’s a normal thing Cloud, don’t be upset. It’s okay, I promise,’ Cloud had remembered Laguna was crying. 

Cloud was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of heavy footsteps thumping down the stairs to the foyer. A familiar face appeared into the room.

“Cloud,” Leon barely got the word out before yawning deeply. 

“Leon!” Cloud exclaimed, trying his hardest not to let his voice rise in pitch. It just really hit him hard how much he’d missed his best friend. Cloud let his eyes roam over Leon’s familiar features. His stormy grey eyes, to his lightly tanned skin, which Cloud suspected was from being under the sun in Balamb, to his shaggy brown hair, Cloud had always wondered if it was soft; it looked like it, to the scar running from Leon’s left cheek to his forehead. The one he’d gotten when their old neighbor, Seifer, pushed him out of a tree when they were all in the first grade. His gaze finally settled on the heavy, deep set dark circles resting just below Leon’s eyes. Cloud huffed.

“You look exhausted, did you even get any sleep in Balamb?” He accused and crossed his arms over his chest, watching Leon rub at the back of his neck. 

“Yeah… I’m just jet lagged,” Leon murmured, his deep voice sounding just as tired as he looked. He stared at the floor for a moment, just breathing, then drew his gaze up to catch Cloud’s. “Anyways, let’s get out of here, I think the two of us have some catching up to do?” He smirked, Cloud grinned back.

“Most certainly,” Cloud held out his arm, initiating a familiar gesture between the two. “Shall we?” The blond watched as Leon’s smile slid away, replaced by a strange expression he’d never seen his friend make towards him before. Leon stared Cloud's arm for a moment, making no move to take it. Cloud’s eyebrows drew together softly and Leon blinked a few times before turning towards his father.

“Dad, we’re gonna head out. See you when I get back from school?” 

“Yep. I’ll just be here, my manuscript is due within the week and my editor is really cracking down on my a- i mean butt,” Laguna corrected himself and chuckled, not wanting to swear in front of his son’s friend. “Have fun,” Leon nodded at his dad and grabbed the backpack resting on the floor by their feet. He opened the door, waiting for Cloud to step back through. 

-0-0-0-

The two boys found themselves in their usual diner a few moments later, falling back into their regular morning routine as if Leon had never left. As they sat in their favorite booth, near the back of the restaurant, Cloud peered over at his unusually silent friend. Leon wasn’t looking at him. His gaze instead rested on the bright tile flooring beneath his feet. Cloud frowned and waved his hand at Leon playfully, hoping to lighten the mood. When Leon just glanced up at him with a blank expression, Cloud’s worries increased. 

“So…? Are you gonna tell me how your vacation was?” Cloud rested his chin in the palm of his hand, staring at Leon intently. He wasn’t all that interested in the trip, he just wanted Leon to talk to him. 

“It was fine…” Leon looked at Cloud’s plate. “Are you seriously eating french fries for breakfast?” His eyes rose back up to Cloud’s, a single eyebrow raised. The trademark Leon expression seemed a bit forced. There was something definitely off about his companion. Cloud tried to brush it off as jet lag, like he claimed earlier.

“What are you, my mom?” Cloud rolled his eyes. “And no, I ate at home. This is like… My second breakfast. I don’t need the lecture on my eating habits again, I know,” Leon huffed at him lightheartedly. “Now, tell me how your trip was or I’ll throw these fries at you.” 

Leon sighed. “Man, what is it with you and throwing food,” Leon admonished, a small smile playing across his lips. Cloud let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Maybe his friend’s demeanor was really just because he was tired after all. “Y’know it’s your loss anyways,” Leon added. Cloud pouted childishly, a habit he’d unfortunately picked up from one of his younger brothers. 

“Whatever! Tell me,” He threw one of his fries. Leon caught it mid air before it could hit him, batting it away with his fingers. 

“Fine, Fine,” Leon chuckled lightly, picking the fry from the red and white plastic tablecloth and popping it into his mouth. 

“Leon! Gross!” Cloud laughed. The brunet raised his eyebrows, amused. 

“What? I’m not going to waste food. This is still totally edible,” he reached over, snagging a fry directly from Cloud's plate. Cloud made a face at him. Leon paused a moment, another blank expression forming on his face. “Uh, Balamb was alright, I guess. We checked out the college there."

“So…? Was that all? You were there for two months and everything,” Cloud tilted his head. “Did you go on any hikes or anything? I’ve heard the forests are super cool in Balamb.” 

As soon as the word ‘forest’ left Cloud’s mouth, Leon froze. A panic stricken look flashed across his face. Cloud sat up quickly, Leon looked terrified. 

“Leon?” Cloud leaned towards his friend. “Are you alright?” The other boy said nothing, he just stared right past Cloud as if he wasn’t there. His fearful expression remained unchanged. “Hey...” Cloud moved his hand to touch Leon’s forearm, but Leon jerked away sharply. 

“I… Sorry, what were you saying?” Leon uttered breathlessly, gaze finally falling back on Cloud. He ran the hand he’d just retracted through his hair, messily pushing the thick strands out of place. Cloud’s frown reappeared. 

“I asked about the rest of the trip, are you okay?” Cloud realized his arm was still outstretched towards Leon. He dropped it onto the table with a thump.

“Yeah… Sorry. I’m fine. Tired is all. M’fine,” he muttered. Cloud knew Leon much too well to believe that. “Uh yeah… We did some hikes and... stuff. I mean we were mostly there to see family, that’s where my dad grew up…”

“Mhmm,” Cloud studied Leon’s face, searching for the cause of his distress. 

“Yeah. I’m glad to be home now though, for sure,” he tugged at the collar of his leather jacket sluggishly. He really did look so exhausted. 

"Man, you seem so tired. You sure you wanna go to school today?” Cloud asked, chewing on his thumbnail absentmindedly. Maybe a topic change would help this awkward situation.

“No… I have to go. I missed two entire months, dude,” Leon sighed. “What time is it anyways?” 

Cloud looked up at the clock above the kitchen window, just behind Leon’s head. “Oh, shit!” he exclaimed, quickly shoving the rest of his food into his mouth. “We’re gonna be late!”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Leon laughed quietly as he flagged down the waitress to ask for their check. 

-0-0-0-

The walk to school was uneventful. Cloud would ask questions about the trip and Leon would provide him with vague answers. The two eventually fell into a comfortable silence, until finally parting ways in the hallway once they reached the school building. 

Cloud found his way to first period quickly, dropping himself unceremoniously into his seat near the back of the classroom. 

“Hey Cloud, can’t say I’ve seen you in a while,” Cloud looked over at the dark haired girl seated next to him. 

“Morning Tifa,” Cloud offered a small wave to his friend. “Well, you know me and my less than desirable attendance record,” Tifa huffed at him playfully, but her expression quickly became serious as she drew her thick eyebrows together. 

“You know, we all get pretty worried when you don’t show up for a whole week, man. You don’t answer your phone… And Leon wasn’t here, we had no way to tell if you were okay or not,” 

“Sorry. You should know I’m fine Teef, you don’t have to worry about me,” Cloud broke eye contact with her to pull his notebook from his backpack. 

“Cloud…” 

“Anyways! I’m here now, and Leon is back too, so...” Cloud cut her off. He didn’t look back up at her, busying himself by fiddling with a piece of notebook paper. Cloud hated making people worry, especially Tifa. He didn’t want to be a burden and she already had enough on her plate as it was, she didn’t need to shoulder his problems too. 

“Yeah, yeah I guess so. It’s good to see you back at school dude, we missed you,” She reached over and patted Cloud’s head affectionately. “Oh, by the way, you better say hi to Yuffie during lunch or something. She’ll come after you and gut you if she finds out you were here and didn’t tell her,” 

“I know, oh geez I know,” Cloud laughed, thankful that his friend dropped the subject.

“Alright, that’s enough about you anyhow, a week is NOTHING compared to two months. How is Leon? Did you see him?” 

“Yeah I saw him…” Cloud frowned, reminded of the odd way Leon acted that morning. 

“What’s with that expression? Did something happen between you two?” 

“No… No nothing like that,” Cloud sighed and rubbed at his forehead. He sighed, knowing Tifa would be able to offer him some good insight. “He was just acting really… Weird when we hung out this morning. I don’t know.” 

“Weird? How so?” 

“Well, for one, he wouldn’t touch me at all. Like… He freaked out when I tried to,” 

“Oh, that is really weird,” Tifa finally mirrored Cloud’s frown. 

“Yeah, and that’s not all. He was super distant, he would barely talk to me, not like usual. He also freaked out while we were at the diner. I’ve never seen him do that! He looked really scared, y’know?” Cloud paused for a minute and took a deep breath, realizing how fast he had begun talking. “Like, absolutely terrified and I couldn’t figure out what set him off. He barely smiled either, and he didn’t joke with me like usual… I’m really worried about him. He’s never been like this before. Not even during freshman year when he was super withdrawn… I just… Don’t know...” 

“Hmm…” Tifa took a moment to go over what Cloud had told her. Leon maybe wasn’t her best friend, but she knew him more than well enough. “Maybe something happened on the trip?” 

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. That or… Nevermind,” Cloud waved his hand dismissively. Tifa smiled softly at her friend in recognition. She may have known Leon well, but she knew Cloud even better. 

“Cloud, don’t worry. He’s not mad at you, I promise,” 

“No, I know he’s not, I know. Not everything’s about me,” Cloud chuckled, the sound coming out more nervous than he had intended. Cloud knew it was stupid, but he thought Leon might have gotten tired of him while away. Cloud had a terrible tendency to interpret people's actions towards him as ones of anger, even if they had nothing to do with him. 

“Strife! Lockhart! This is astronomy class, not a chat session!” Their teacher shouted from where he stood at the front of the classroom, face pinched into its usual grumpy scowl. 

“Sorry, Mr. Highwind,” the two replied in unison. 

“Kids these days…” Cid grumbled, going back to his lesson. Tifa snorted, but quickly caught herself, hiding her mouth behind her palm at the embarrassing noise. Cloud barely managed to hold back a fit of giggles. Tifa grumbled about something about Cloud being so rude before her fake scowl melted back into her usual friendly smile.

“Cloud, I want to talk more about this later, okay?” she whispered. 

“Sure, yeah. Later.” Cloud offered her a lopsided smile in return, but he really wasn’t in such a smiling mood anymore. “For now though, we better pay attention or Highwind will have our asses.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Tifa scoffed, shifted her body towards the front of the class. She rested her chin on her forearms and glanced back at Cloud. “But, Cloud, listen. We’ll figure out what’s up. I promise,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im trying to play with some of cloud's tendencies for silly dialogue like in the original ffvii, i hope it's working out
> 
> thanks so much for reading! please tell me what you think, i'll have the next chapter up soon


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! sorry for the wait on this chapter i ran into some issues with my writing
> 
> just as a warning, there is a brief mention of suicide near the beginning of this chapter so just take care of yourself!

First period went by quickly. Despite Mr. Highwind’s unpleasant disposition, he was a good teacher and his class was interesting. Cloud and Tifa didn’t get another chance to talk before the bell rang, so they said their goodbyes and promised to continue their conversation at lunch. 

Next class, he had with Reno and Zell. They were definitely a lot to handle. Each of them on their own were sneaky and clever as a fox, but together, as you can imagine, they were devastating. Rumors of the duo driving several teachers to quit had been circulating the school for years, something Reno and Zell were quite proud of. Neither had yet bothered to confirm or deny the rumors. All in all, the two boys were quite a wild bunch. Thankfully though, they were some of Cloud’s closest friends, making their obnoxious behavior a little more bearable. 

“Cloud! What’ve you been up to, man? We missed you!” Reno called as Cloud slid into his seat. 

“Oh, you know. A little of this… a little of that,” Cloud flashed the redhead a grin. 

“Ooh, mysterious as always,” Reno said, grinning. A certain tattooed blond (No one knew how he’d managed to get the full facial tattoos, being 16 and all.) creeping into the room caught their attentions. “Zell! Over here!” 

“Cloud!” Zell greeted happily as he flopped down into the open chair on the other side of Cloud. “This class sucks ass without you here, man,” he said, clapping Cloud on the shoulder forcefully enough to make him wince a bit. Reno gasped. 

“Hey! What about me, huh?! To think all this time you were only spending time with me as a replacement for Cloud...” Reno exclaimed, looking as hurt as he could with a Cheshire Cat grin plastered to his face. 

“You know that’s not what I meant, Reno,” Zell cooed. “But, Valentine’s class is THE WORST without all of us here. We gotta have Cloud here to balance us out like… Yin and Yang, man,” 

“Right, right,” Reno sighed, shaking his head. 

“Wow, I didn’t know you guys were so miserable without me, gosh,” Cloud remarked sarcastically. 

“You know it,” Cloud’s friends said almost in unison. The conversation was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming open. Looking up, they watched as their teacher stalked into the room. The foul mooded English professor shot a pointed look their way.

Vincent Valentine was an intense man. He was tall, with pale skin, long black hair, and a glare that would send most students cowering. Not Zell and Reno though, clearly.

“Hey, Cloud,” Reno leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Did you hear? Valentine’s girlfriend apparently killed herself so she wouldn’t have to date him anymore,” Zell’s eyes widened from where he’d scooted in to hear the secret Reno was telling. 

“No way,” Zell gasped, leaning on his arms on the table. Cloud frowned at both of them. 

“Shut up dude, that’s not funny. It would be awful if something like that really happened,” Cloud pushed Reno away from himself. Reno blinked slowly then grimaced, recognition visibly spreading across his sharp features. 

“Sorry man…I forgot about your dad, I didn’t mean...” Reno trailed off. Zell reached over patted Cloud’s back.

“Whatever. Just don’t say stuff like that,” Cloud took a breath and brushed Zell off. He didn’t want to talk about his dad right now. Or ever, thanks. “Anyways, Mr. Valentine looks like he’s out for blood today, you guys better watch it,”

“He always looks like that,” Zell replied, hesitantly at first. “It seems like he hates us but we know the truth,” Zell was speaking much louder than necessary for the others at the table to hear. Valentine scowled as he retrieved his papers from his bag and Zell lowered his voice again. “That or he’s a vampire. You know, I wouldn’t be surprised about that one, honestly.” 

“Anything you say… I can’t imagine what that poor guy must have gone through while I wasn’t here to keep you kids in check,” Cloud shook his head.

“I’m hurt, Cloud!” Reno said, bumping Cloud playfully in the side with his shoulder. “You know we would never do anything to disrupt class… not us…”

“Especially not since it's our favorite class,” Zell snickered. 

“Anything you say,” Cloud repeated as Vincent dropped his books heavily onto the teacher’s desk. 

“Class is starting,” Vincent stated dryly. “Which means no talking,” he sent a dark glare across the classroom, lingering on Cloud’s table. Reno and Zell snickered to each other, Cloud sighed deeply. 

-0-0-0-

When the time of lunch finally came, Cloud’s heart was pounding. He’d spent the last 3 hours stressing on and off about Leon’s behavior. He’d gone over it in his head at least a million times, trying to figure it out. All he wanted was to ask Leon himself what was going on. Hopefully he’d be truthful this time, if not Cloud would know something was really wrong. The two just didn’t lie to each other. They hadn’t since they were tiny children. 

Cloud took a deep breath as he entered the cafeteria, scanning the crowds of students for his usual lunch table. He caught sight of Tifa waving him down and pushed his way towards her. 

“You seen Leon yet?” He asked, sliding onto the bench across from Tifa. 

“Nope, not yet,” Tifa replied, doing another once over of the cafeteria, searching for the familiar face of their shared friend. “ 'S a shame he’s not in any of my classes, I coulda kept an eye on him for you.” 

“Nah, it’s okay. We’ll see him soon enough,” Cloud smiled as a few of their other friends started to trickle through the cafeteria doors. He, at that moment however, had not been expecting to be tackled from behind by a very excited sophomore. 

“CLOUDY!” Yuffie shrieked into his ear, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing in a vice-like grip. 

“Hi, Yuffie,” he wheezed. Cloud, preoccupied with trying to untangle the girls skinny arms from himself, didn’t notice Leon’s arrival. When he finally looked up, straight into tired grey-blue eyes, he was startled. “You!” he exclaimed. “I mean, hey… Uh-” 

“OH MY GOD! SQUALL! IT’S YOU!” Yuffie screamed when she noticed the other boy. She let go of Cloud immediately, as she nearly vaulted across the table to get at the brunet. 

“Yuffie… It’s Leon,” the brunet grumbled affectionately at the younger teen. “Why so surprised to see me?” Leon asked Cloud, patting Yuffie’s head as she clung to him, repeating over and over how excited she was to see him. Cloud frowned, although Leon’s voice was playful, it still held a fairly unusual withdrawn tone. “Was I not supposed to come sit here, or something?” Cloud paused, some reason not able to put together a reply.

“No! No, sit! Welcome back to the charming suburbs of Radiant Garden, Leon, we missed you,” Tifa quickly swooped in to save the day, grinning up at the brunet. Cloud had taken too long to come up with a response. His hours of stressing over this meeting had short-circuited his brain, and Yuffie’s loud, incoherent babbling was not helping him form any thoughts. 

Tifa patted the space on the bench next to her. “Nice tan,” she added. “I see the sun has treated you well.” 

Leon looked down at himself slowly. “Oh, uh, yeah, I didn’t even notice really. Probably have a farmers tan, or something,” he mumbled as Yuffie continued to nuzzle his arm. Leon took another second before remembering he was supposed to take a seat. Shaking off the small girl, he slid into place besides Tifa. 

Cloud didn’t say anything as the rest of their friends arrived, greeted Leon, and took their spots at the table. He offered small waves as Aerith, Selphie, Irvine, and finally Reno and Zell (they’d somehow managed to get themselves turned around even though they were coming from the same place as Cloud) showed up and sat down to eat. 

Time passed, and he still couldn’t gather how to talk to Leon about what was bothering him. Not with all his friends around, at least. He sighed and picked at his sandwich. Cloud wasn’t feeling very hungry today. While he sat, he stole several glances in Leon’s direction. Taking note of how he wasn’t participating in the usual lunch table chatter either, Cloud licked his lips and made up his mind. Hopefully, he thought, if they could get away from all the noise, they could have a discussion. Trying to catch Leon’s eye while he was staring at his lap, however, proved to be quite difficult. After a few minutes of awkward staring, Leon finally looked his way. Cloud subtly nodded towards the cafeteria doors, hoping his friend understood what he meant. When Leon gave him a quick nod in confirmation, Cloud stood up. 

“We’ll… Be right back,” he addressed the others at the table. Tifa raised her eyebrows. 

“Stay safe, kids! Use protection!” Reno hollered, followed by Yuffie’s disappointed cries at their sudden departure. As they made to leave, Cloud turned towards the end of the table, standing on his tiptoes to make sure the redhead could see, and made the meanest face he could muster. "Fuck off, Reno!" he called back. Reno’s cackling followed them until they were free of the crowded lunchroom. 

“So… What’s up?” Leon asked after a couple minutes of uncomfortable silence as the two wandered down the hallway. 

“The question is, what’s up with you,” Cloud answered after a time, looking up at his companion. He was grateful Leon had decided to start the conversation, as he was still struggling to piece together any of the questions he wanted to ask. 

“Huh?” Leon raised an eyebrow. 

“You heard me,” Cloud narrowed his eyes slowly. He wanted to be gentle with his upset friend’s feelings, but Cloud had a pretty short temper, and this behavior was starting to get on his nerves. 

“I don’t think I understand what you mean,” Leon strained, starting to walk a little faster. Cloud had to pick up the pace to keep up with him as they moved towards the doors that lead out to the football field.

“Come on, don’t lie to me,” Cloud huffed. “You’ve been… Weird all day, okay. It’s really obvious something's wrong,” 

Leon frowned at him. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just fine. Absolutely peachy,” his voice just grew more strained as he shrugged jerkily in an attempt to play it off. Pushing open the exit with his back, Leon let Cloud walk through first, refusing to make eye contact as he passed. 

“Are you SERIOUSLY doing this right now… I just want to help, Leon,” Cloud groaned. Leon was silent as they walked onto the track.

“You can’t help…” Leon finally murmured, trailing off like he had something more to say. Cloud snapped to attention, staring at the other. 

“What?” Cloud stopped, putting his hand on Leon’s arm, forcing him to do the same. The brunet pulled away roughly. 

“You can’t help because there’s nothing to help with!” Leon’s whole demeanor changed as he practically growled the statement. Cloud scowled, now quite frustrated with his friend’s actions. 

“Leon-” 

“DROP IT, OKAY?!” Leon shouted, very close to Cloud’s face. Leon abruptly turned away, running in the opposite direction they came from, leaving Cloud by himself on the field. Cloud was stunned. He wanted to chase after Leon, but his feet were frozen to the spot. What had just happened? Defensiveness was nothing new but this… Leon had never shouted at him before, never had he been so quick to anger. Without realizing, tears had begun to build up in Cloud’s eyes. He gritted his teeth and spun on his heel, sprinting back inside. He didn’t know how to deal with this version of Leon, he didn’t know what to do. 

-0-0-0-

Cloud’s last two periods went by in a blur. He missed almost all of what was covered in his classes, mind preoccupied with Leon. What had Cloud done wrong? He just wanted to help. Did Leon… Did he really decide he hated him while on the trip? That was the only explanation his frantic mind could come to. He felt like crying again. 

When the last bell rang, Cloud left the building as quickly as he could, not waiting for Leon like he normally would. He was going to walk home alone. He didn’t want to talk to Leon right now… it was giving him too much anxiety. As soon as he was off campus grounds, he nearly ran the remaining fifteen blocks back to his house. He needed to be alone.

Cloud slammed open his front door, ignoring his brothers greetings, he ran straight up the stairs to his room. He needed to think… without the distractions two rowdy 14 year old boys would offer. 

What the hell had happened today? There must be another answer… there had to be, what would he even DO if Leon really did hate him… He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. It’s what his mom had always told him to do if he got too upset. It worked maybe fifty percent of the time. Cloud flopped back onto his bed, sorting out his thoughts as he lie there. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure Leon would tell him straight if he didn’t want anything to do with him. Cloud was certain he knew his best friend well enough to know that, at least. AT LEAST. Cloud buried his face into his pillow and screamed. 

After about two hours, a soft knock came at Cloud’s door. He hadn’t moved from the spot on his bed.

“Come in,” he answered, voice still muffled by the pillow. The door clicked open quietly, and in padded Ventus. 

“Uhm… Mom wanted to know if you wanted to come join us for dinner…” Ven mumbled. 

“No.”

“Okay… I think she really wants you to, Cloud…” Ven fidgeted in the doorway, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“Leave.” Cloud barked. 

“Alright. Uh, Actually…” Ventus started as he remembered the other important thing he’d come upstairs to tell his brother. Cloud turned his head and glared, wondering why the intruder hadn’t left yet. “Leon stopped by, he-” Leon?! Cloud was a blur as he shot out of his bed and ran straight towards Ventus, spurred by the mention of his best friend.

“He. What.” Cloud hissed into the wide eyed face of his younger brother. 

“He said… He wanted to talk to you… And that you should call him or… Something…” Ventus trailed off, still startled by his previously moping brother’s sudden change in mood. 

“When was he here?” Cloud took a step back from the petrified boy and let out a breath of relief. Leon wanted to talk to him… that was good.

“Like 5 minutes ago, maybe, I didn’t see him, only heard him from the kitchen. Roxas just told me to tell you since I was already coming up here and so…”

“Why didn’t he… come up and talk to me?” Cloud asked, even though he knew his brother didn’t know the answer. Ven shook his head. 

“Dunno, but if you leave now you might be able to catch him before he gets home.” Cloud was already pulling his shoes on before he even finished his sentence. 

“Tell mom I’m going out,” he announced and ran past his brother, down the stairs, and out the door faster than anyone in the house had seen him move in a long time. 

Cloud didn’t stop running until he saw a familiar mop of brown hair, sitting on a bench a few blocks from his house. 

“Leon!” Cloud called, attempting to slow into a stop, nearly skidding across the pavement in his enthusiasm. “Hey,” he wheezed, bending over to place his hands on his knees. Leon stared at him, startled by his sudden appearance. 

“Hey… Uh… I thought I just told you to call me...” Leon breathed. 

“I mean yeah I just thought, um, well you know…” Cloud leaned back on his heels, frowning at himself for not thinking this through. Of course Leon didn’t want to see him in person. That’s why he’d just left a message with Roxas at the house to call him instead of coming upstairs. His attention was drawn back to Leon as his friend sighed deeply.

“It’s okay. I just… wanted to apologize to you, I guess it works either way so uh…” Leon licked his lips, suddenly feeling really awkward. 

“Apologize?” 

“I mean, yeah, for… yelling at you and stuff. I didn’t mean to-” He paused for a moment, messing with the zipper pull on this leather jacket. “Well, I’m sorry, it’s not your fault, I’m just… uh,” he waved his hand around as though that would explain things. “A lot happened on the trip.” 

Cloud nodded. “It’s alright. I thought you were mad at me or something, so thanks for clearing that up.” 

“No! No, I’m not mad at you,” Leon stood up from the bench, looking very sincere. Cloud couldn’t help but smile. 

“Okay, do you wanna tell me what happened? It’s okay if you don’t, sorry I tried to force you earlier,” Cloud bit his bottom lip. If Leon didn’t want to… that was fine. He just thought he’d ask. 

“No… Sorry. Maybe I'll tell you sometime but it's not.... I'm....” Leon trailed off, fiddling with a longer strand of his hair. “Are we cool though?” Leon looked up at Cloud hopefully. 

“Yeah. We’re cool,” Cloud confirmed. Leon smiled softly in relief. Cloud started to reach towards Leon to pat him on the shoulder for reassurance, thought better of it, and dropped his hand back to his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! sorry for the bland first two chapters, but i promise more things will start happening soon. werewolf things.


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